Why you were banned from Reddit (and how to get a ban lifted)

It is easy to get banned from Reddit. Posting too many links or breaking the rules in a subreddit will almost guarantee you get banned from that subreddit or from the site entirely. This is how Reddit fights the constant onslaught of spammers and over-zealous marketers.

So if you have been banned from Reddit, do not feel bad. You can make an ethical return to the community and drastically reduce your chances of being banned again.

Types of Reddit Bans

1. Subreddit Ban – You can be banned from any subreddit by a moderator of that subreddit. A subreddit ban can be time-limited or indefinite. When you are banned from a subreddit, you will receive a private message that says how long the ban will be in effect and optionally the reason you were banned. After you are banned from a subreddit, you will not be able to submit any posts or comments to that subreddit.

2. Subreddit AutoModerator Ban – You can also be banned from submitting posts or comments to a subreddit by the “AutoModerator” bot see this page. AutoModerator is a Reddit bot that moderators use to perform tasks on their behalf. One ability that AutoModerator has is to remove any posts or comments from a specific user. So if you have been banned by AutoModerator, you will still be able to submit posts and comments, but they will instantly be removed from the subreddit.

3. Shadowban – A shadowban is a site-wide ban that is automatically triggered when a user engages in suspicious activity. A shadowban is tricky because it will look like all of your content is visible on the website, however, other users will not see your content.

Did I get banned?

When you are banned from a subreddit by a moderator, you will receive a private message letting you know. You will also not be able to submit posts or comments (the links/buttons will not be visible).

When you are banned from a subreddit via AutoModerator, you will not receive a private message. You will know that you have been banned if everything you submit is automatically removed (just check the comments page of your post and you’ll see a “[removed]” tag).

The shadowban is the hardest ban to detect. If your posts and comments are getting zero engagement from other users, simply log out of your Reddit account and view your user account page (http://reddit.com/user/your_username). If you get a “page not found” error, then you are shadowbanned. You can also check if you are shadowbanned by using this tool or by visiting /r/ShadowBanned and following the instructions in the sidebar.

Why you got banned from reddit

Any action you take on Reddit that breaks the site-wide rules, Reddiquette, or a subreddit’s rules can cause your account to get banned. Here are some specific reasons your account may have been banned.

Posting too many links. Making a link submission as your first action as a redditor is a huge red flag. Even if you are posting a genuine, relative link, it still looks suspicious to moderators and Reddit’s source code. If this link gets remove or marked as spam, your account might be done for. We recommend always posting comments and voting on other submissions before you start posting links.

Upvoting your own submissions with a second account. Reddit does not tolerate users that upvote their own posts. This is because spammers are constantly trying to implement upvote schemes that get their content to the top of a big subreddit.

Intentionally spamming the website with posts and comments promoting a link. This is an no-brainer.

Posting comments or submissions that harass other users. Reddit has take a strong anti-harassment stance this past year (2015). If you are harassing a user, you will likely be reported to the admins and they will take action.

Posting off-topic comments or submissions. A subreddit only works if the content is focused on a specific topic.

Asking others to upvote your content. Never ask anyone to upvote your content. If it is good it will be upvoted.

How to lift a ban on your account

First determine whether your ban was at the subreddit level or site-wide. If it was at the subreddit level (either a Moderator ban or an AutoModerator ban), then you can message the moderators to admit your mistake, apologize, and promise not to break the rules again.

If you were shadowbanned and think it was done unfairly, then you can message the moderators using this link. Users are falsely shadowbanned on a regular basis and the admins should put your account back in good standing if you have done nothing wrong.

Alternatively, you can create a new account and start over. Just be careful this time as multiple bannings will start to get frustrating.

Don’t feel bad if you get banned

It is easy to get banned on Reddit, so don’t feel bad. You can be banned at the subreddit or site-wide levels for spamming or for suspicious activity, even if it is well-intentioned. Depending on the type of ban you have received, contact the moderators of the subreddit or the admins to resolve the ban.

If you want to use Reddit as a marketing channel in an honest way that will never get you banned, start here.

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